Congratulations to Middle School Theatre/Upper School Public Speaking Teacher Susan Sanford, who won Best Lead Performance at the Richmond Theatre Community Circle (RTCC) awards, also known as the “Artsies.” A committee of critics and designated members of the Richmond Theatre Community Circle is charged with collecting nominations for the awards.

The awards celebration, which recognized excellence in Richmond-area theatre, was held on October 12 at Virginia Repertory’s November Theatre. The festive event was featured in an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

Ms. Sanford won the award for her role as The Witch in the Stephen Sondheim musical, “Into the Woods,” which was produced by Richmond Shakespeare and performed at Steward in the spring of 2024.

“This is the sixteenth year of the RTCC awards, and is, as I call it, theatre prom,” she said. “Everyone dresses up, there is a red carpet in front of the theatre, and it is a wonderful opportunity to see friends old and new in the theatre community.”

Ms. Sanford added, “I just finished playing Annie Wilkes in ‘Misery,’ which was a wonderful challenge. I always want to take roles that scare me a little, because then I know that I’m stretching myself as an artist.” 

In her next role, Ms. Sanford will play Mrs. Gloop in Virginia Repertory’s production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” She said, “It will be a lot of fun to have a role that isn’t quite so much in the limelight!”